Muslim Film Creatives Unite for Unprecedented Production "Ramadan America"

Rifelion Media has greenlit production on “Ramadan America,” a first-of-its-kind short film anthology written by, directed by and starring American Muslims. The anthology is the debut film project by the award-winning podcasting and media company. 

The feature-length “Ramadan American” comprises five narrative short films written by American Muslim writers, featuring stories about the holidays Ramadan and Eid. Filming began in late October and is taking place in both New York City and Los Angeles. The film will premiere in March 2024 to coincide with Ramadan. 

Rifelion has attached five notable American Muslim directors to the anthology: Jumai Yusuf of “Wildflower” (2019) and “Pearl Rain” (2018); Huriyyah Muhammad of "Chocolate with Sprinkles" and "Wonders" (2023); Amy Omar of "Aysegül on Tuesdays" and "Breaking Fast with a Coca-Cola" (2023); Kashif Pasta of "Desi Standard Time Travel" (2022) and "Welcome to Surrey" (2017); and Ijaaz Noohu of "Start Breaking My Heart" (2018) and "The Lemonade Stand" (2016).

Rifelion CEO Asad Butt and filmmaker Valerie Steinberg serve as executive producers. Producers for the projects include Thomas Bond of "Box Boy" and "Bite Size Halloween" (2020 – ); Sara Seligman of “The Mindy Project” (2012–2017) and "Diego" (2014); Pinar Binay of "Sunflower" and "The Silence Between Us" (2020); Emily McCann Lesser of "Farewell Amor" (2020) and "Materna" (2020); and Yuki Maekawa-Ledbetter of "The Black Disquisition" (2021) and "Alieu the Dreamer" (2018). Shahjehan Khan, Charlie Golestani and Mark Annotto are co-producers. 

"With the state of the world right now, something artistic and beautiful from Muslim creatives could serve as a beacon," said Butt. "People are searching for a reason to hate instead of recognizing our similarities and appreciating our differences. This production celebrates the spectrum of American Muslim culture and how, at the end of the day, we're all just people." 

Rifelion acquired the scripts as part of a writing competition conducted in conjunction with the Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF). The five scripts were selected from over 50 submissions from American Muslim writers; more information about the individual scripts can be found in Fann's announcement post here.

Casting is currently being conducted by MA Casting, a creative consultancy that specializes in providing talent from Middle Eastern and Muslim backgrounds.

Fann will cover “Ramadan America” throughout its production. For more information, visit the film’s website at the link below.